Derek Finkle: Controversial drug injection sites among Carney's first challenges
When Mark Carney was asked on the campaign trail about whether federal approval for injection sites would continue under his government, he avoided the contentious topic by saying the effectiveness of those sites was under review.
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Even in his evasion, our new prime minister was undermining the position staked out by his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. When asked about such controversial initiatives as injection sites and the distribution of so-called 'safer supply' opioids to those with severe addictions, the latter was fond of insisting his government was simply 'following the science.'
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If science had decided injection sites were wildly successful and necessary, then why does Carney's government need to study them?
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As it turns out, Carney and his minority government are going to be called on to conclude their alleged study of injection sites sooner rather than later. This is because the federal drug law exemption (required for injection sites across Canada to operate) expired for a site in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood of Ottawa on April 30.
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The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, which houses the injection site, applied to renew its federal drug law exemption on Jan. 30. Just a few months earlier, another injection site in the same ward, Rideau-Vanier, which is home to three sites, was granted a five-year exemption renewal under controversial circumstances.
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So controversial, in fact, that the head of a local arts non-profit has since gone to federal court seeking a judicial review of the insular and secretive process Health Canada utilized in coming to its decision.
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At the 11th hour, late on April 30, Health Canada advised the Sandy Hill site that it was renewing its exemption — not for five years but only 30 days. The obvious reason for such a short exemption renewal being that Health Canada needs to take direction from the new government.
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One piece of good news for Mark Carney is that the materials required for his study of injection sites have recently been assembled in a very large, detailed package. This exhaustive analysis of the topic results from a legal challenge filed by an injection site in Toronto's Kensington neighbourhood, claiming that legislation passed in Ontario late last year prohibiting injection sites from operating within 200 metres of schools and daycare facilities violates the charter rights of drug users.
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The judge overseeing this litigation estimated the case's court record to be 6,000 pages in total. I may be the only journalist to have read it in its entirety. So, free of charge, I will provide Mr. Carney with the Coles notes summary.
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